40 Alluring Layered Bob Hairstyles That Bring The Chic

There are at least a million reasons why you should add layers to your look. However, if you're wanting a bob – a hairstyle which has totally taken over 2021 – you may be wondering how this is even possible. Even after mustering up the confidence to actually get the big chop, it may seem as though there's barely enough hair there! Yet, adding texture to your hairstyle is actually a great way to get even more volume. Even light layers can give your hair a whole new life.

Many assume that there's a short list of options when it comes to a short haircut, but there's actually a whole lot of inspiration out there to help add instant interest if your bob is feeling blah. And if you're looking to change up your cut into something super stylish, a bob may be the look to turn to. To inspire you to lose your long locks, here are 40 of the most alluring layered bob hairstyles that are bound to bring the chic.

After chopping off a whole lot of length for a lob, Mila Kunis took her cut a step further and got a bob. The asymmetrical 'do has subtle angled layers that help add dimension to the ends of the hair.

If you're looking to add something new to your short haircut, layers can take your look to new heights — and, boy, does Halle Berry's hair make a statement! After adding in some soft layers, her curls look even more voluminous than before.

Selena Gomez first debuted her bob all the way back in 2009, per Glamour, and it's a look she's continually come back to ever since. The soft layering on the ends helps her hair lay flat, giving the look of a blunt bob with some added dimension.

Haircuts are serious business for Bella Hadid. "I think when you dye and cut your hair it takes away a lot of past resolutions," she told Harper's Bazaar. Yet, with her bob, she was actually bringing back a past look. "I really just wanted to go back to when I was 15 and relive that," she admitted.

With a bob, you may feel like you barely have any hair. Yet, adding in long, subtle layers to an already short 'do can make your hairstyle always look effortless — because it is! Camilla Belle's lightly layered bob has always looked super high-class with little maintenance.

After all these years, it's hard to imagine a time when Lucy Hale wasn't rocking her bob. Yet, making that first chop was a big change in her life. "It was the most liberating thing I've ever done," she told Cosmopolitan. Adding in light layers helps create all sorts of texture to her hairstyle — and yours, too.

Charlize Theron has tried out many hairstyles, like this layered bob with a side-swept part. "I have no attachment to my hair," she even told Vogue. "And I always think that if I hate it, it's going to grow back," which is great advice for chopping off your long locks. Be brave when it comes to a bob!

If you find yourself always wanting to keep up with the Joneses (and their hair), January Jones' look will definitely help you do it. The soft layers in her bob give her 'do all sorts of added dimension, and it's even more flattering with simple jewelry — this makes her hair the focus.

Cutting your hair is practically equivalent to gaining superpowers. "My hair and makeup team are some of the most empowering people I've ever met," Lily Collins told Byrdie. Her lightly-layered cut is a total confidence booster.

Surprisingly, Cameron Diaz's short 'do was a complete accident. "There was a little misunderstanding," she admitted on The Tonight Show (via PopSugar). After telling her hairstylist that she only wanted a trim right at her shoulders, a major miscommunication occurred, and the actress ended up with this iconic bob instead.

Layers can add all sorts of dimension to your 'do, and hair color can take this a step further. We are all about Alison Brie's lightly-layered ombré bob, which looks oh-so-sweet here, yet can easily be dressed up for a night out.

Soft layers and side-swept bangs — yes, please! Emma Stone's short 'do is electric, and being a redhead only adds to it. "Her cut and the way her hair is styled makes a huge difference in the way the color reads," her colorist, Tracey Cunningham, told Refinery29.

To add even more interest to your layered bob, ask your hairstylist to make it asymmetrical. Scarlett Johansson's layered 'do lays near her chin in the front and gradually gets shorter as it goes back — for a look we love.

Gabrielle Union once paid a visit to her hairstylist after having just been sick. "She said, 'I want to feel new and fresh and do something we've never done before,'" her hairstylist, Larry Sims, explained to Refinery29. It was then that her choppy, chic bob was born. Don't we all need a refresh after being sick?

If you want to make a major life change, the easiest way is to change your hair. "Chopping hair off is like getting rid of metaphorical and literal dead ends," Hayden Panettiere tweeted alongside a photo of her layered bob in 2015. Here, she's added loose waves for drama. One could say she's never been the same since! 

Emily Blunt opted to go for a not-so-blunt bob when she cut her hair short. Adding soft layers up around the front helps you focus on what's important — her face!

Jourdan Dunn's bob truly does her face shape justice. When she first chopped it, "We went from 30 inches of gorgeous braids to this chic textured bob," her hairstylist, Lacy Redway, wrote on Instagram. The light layers add lots of motion to her locks, too.

Cutting her hair into a layered bob was a way for Eva Mendes to save time styling it every day. On Instagram, she even thanked her hairstylist, Giannandrea, "for making my mom life a helluva lot easier" (via Yahoo!). Mendes proves that a layered bob is definitely a cool mom haircut!

Who says you can only have layers in long hair? Katie Holmes' bob brilliantly incorporates soft layers for a whole lot of motion. The best part is the short hairstyle's effortlessness. "I was tired of dealing with long hair — I just wanted something easier," the actress told InStyle.

Ciara's bob is one of her favorite looks of all time, she told Allure. Layers and loose waves give her short 'do all sorts of movement, which is extremely appropriate for somebody who spends their life moving and grooving on stage.